Will Airbnb have to check out of Silver Lake?

Many Silver Lake homeowners and renters are making some extra cash renting our rooms or entire houses on Airbnb, with a recent check of more than 200 listings turning up a shared studio apartment going for $60 a night as well as a two-bedroom house with a pool asking $425 a-night. But it appears that some Silver Lake residents are not thrilled with the idea of living next to an Airbnb or other short-term rental property.

Tonight, a committee of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council will take up a proposal that would ban short-term rentals that have been “proliferating” in Silver Lake.

While currently legal in the City of Los Angeles, these hotel-like room rentals are unpopular with neighbors in residential neighborhoods as they bring transients, traffic,create potential safety issues and could negatively impact surrounding property values.

The proposed motion notes that a triplex on Kenilworth Avenue just west of the Silver Lake Reservoir is being converted into a “hotel-lite” with three, short-term rentals. “This use is not compatible in a residential neighborhood and not the intent of existing zoning laws,” according to the motion.

The motion, if adopted by the planning committee and full neighborhood council, would recommend that the Los Angeles City Council prohibit such short-term rentals in Silver Lake.

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council’s Urban Design and Preservation Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on tonight, August 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the community room of the Citibank, 2450 Glendale Boulevard.

*Correction: A previous version of this story said the meeting would be taking place on Thursday night. That’s wrong. The meeting is tonight, Wednesday August 14.

59 comments

The proliferation of Airbnb rentals in Silver Lake and surrounding neighborhoods shows that there’s a huge demand for short term accommodations in these areas compared with an almost complete lack of decent traditional hotels. This is a great way of meeting that demand. The opposition smacks of almost nonsensical NIMBYism (transients???). If the concern is really residential properties being converted into permanent short-term rentals (something that might legitimately be at odds with the character of the neighborhood), at the most it seems like this would justify restricting the number of days per month/year that a unit can be rented out, but not an outright ban.

How does it create ‘traffic’? If you are renting your house aren’t you out of town? To me that’s a 1 to 1 exchange.

Safety Issues??? Airbnb screens all potential occupants. Must be all that unsafe money going into local merchant’s pockets from those “transient” visitors… This is dumb NIMBYism and stinks of jealousy.

I’ve used AirBnB before, and I can tell you that there is NO screening process for applicants. I was never given a background check, I was never interviewed by an AirBnB employee — I just paid for my reservation, got the phone number and key info from the house owner and that was it.

They don’t do back ground checks douche. Did I say background checks? Do you get a background check when you rent a hotel? I said the Airbnb system *screens*! The applicants are SCREENED because it is feedback driven.

If you have ONE bad review as a renter, you will have a very difficult time renting again. If you happen to get a bad renter that destroys your property, Airbnb has a 50K insurance policy for that.

Wow, your response did not need to be so heated. You clearly have a lot of anger issues to call someone who was making a polite observation a “douche” repeatedly. Your mother must be proud to have raised such a polite, respectful citizen.

By saying Air BnB “screens” occupants, you made an assumption that there is some sort of system that prevents shady individuals from renting. But there isn’t. Sure, if you rent more than once from Air BnB, you’ll get a review — but first time renters aren’t “banned” from the site. You just sign up and book a reservation, no screening or “review” process at all. I was asked no questions about my background, I wasn’t asked to provide references — I just booked a rental and that was it.

And not all homeowners leave reviews for people who rent their homes, either, regardless of it the renter was good or bad.

this is insane. times are tough and if a respectful short-term rental can make the difference between paying rent/ mortgage, so be it! i can’t wrap my head around this. and i agree with the point made 1 for 1 w/ regard to parking, most out of town folks don’t have more than one car.

It’s not solely NIMBYism. There are genuine concerns about the types of businesses that operate in residential neighborhoods.

In my four story building, I have neighbors that rent an office in their 1 bedroom while also living in the apartment. It brings extra cars to a parking strapped street. And to a degree, it can change the character of a building (or neighborhood) when there’s a new resident every night.

Look, I agree that in the hierarchy of problems in Silver Lake, this doesn’t take precedence. But while you might not agree about the impact or burden, it’s not like this is just whiners screaming get off my lawn.

Would you like to find out that the house/apartment you’ve invested in is now next door to a hotel? There’s a reason we have zoning laws…

i don’t think the reasons they give make much sense; except maybe the claim that they could negatively impact the values of surrounding homes.

Silver Lake is seemingly going through growing pains. one camp wants a nice place to settle down with their kids, and the other camp wants nightlife and more “cool” things. makes sense that they will be butting heads on some issues; although I am guessing that the home owners will be the ones who have the most sway on this one. We own a house in EP and while I could care less about people using their homes in this fashion, I don’t think I would want to live next to an AirBNB unit; if for nothing else, it would distract from the neighborhood feel. I like to know my neighbors and have some stability in the neighborhood. that’s just me. but that said: I would never go after one. would just prefer not to be next to it.

This is definitely an overreach on the part of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council. Silver Lake is a popular area, there’s a dearth of affordable hotels (and decent motels) in the area, and Airbnb seems like a great way to spread the economic benefits of tourism to the local community rather than handing that money to large corporations. I used Airbnb for the first time this summer to find two apartments – in Stockholm and in London – and from now on, when I travel to an expensive city, I’ll use the service rather than book a hotel.

Of course they are declaring the income, paying the bed tax to the city and providing onsite parking for ALL those with a car that come to the area. They do not of course take up street parking in an area well known to be short of parking.

The case being sited in the motion seems an isolated one, and it should be treated as such rather than used as a blanket statement to deprive homeowners of the possibility of additional income and the City of LA of tax revenue (14% of the proceeds). Airbnb has a mechanism to record complaints against specific properties, and of course if this individual is abusing the residential zone privileges, perhaps he should be required to request a zone change to commercial zone in order to operate a full time hotel -which will be probably denied if enough neighbors oppose it. Please let’s not punish across the board based on a perceived bad apple.

We have a duplex, and have been renting out our 400sf apartment for more than two years. We have a business license to do so, pay our 14% TOT to the city each month, and frankly, seem to specialize in older parents visiting their adult children in Silver Lake. Because we depend on positive reviews, we spend a lot of money and energy on maintaining our property.

Our biggest noise and trash issues are with long-term rental neighbors, who do nothing to add to a sense of community by leaving their mattresses on the curb, practicing drum solos with their doors open, or parking in front of the red curb by my house. Yes, there are bad apples — some of them are short-term visitors, some of them are long-term renters, and some of them are homeowners. But the fact is, we have laws on the books that are meant to manage these nuisances. Seeking to ban short term rentals, which would mean shutting down a legally run business, is the wrong approach to these issues.

This sounds like exactly the issue that the city is having with Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar. All of these services take a formerly scarce commodity (housing, transportation) and allow people to rent out the fraction of it that they aren’t using. This means that more people can be served with much less consumption of resources. But standard taxi policies and neighborhood plans have been made with an assumption that 90% of a car will be wasted (it just sits in the parking spot) and somewhere between 10-50% of a house will be wasted (it sits empty all day while people are at work, and whatever part of the time that they’re out of town). Converting these resources to full use therefore upsets existing social situations, and changes expectations for how a neighborhood functions.

I personally am a big supporter of these services, though they obviously have to have proper regulation that deals with the specific issues that they raise, rather than the issues raised by mid-20th century transportation and housing plans. I’d hate to see the neighborhood ban something out of fear or hate, but unfortunately this issue seems to have come up while I’m out of town and unable to attend the meeting to hear what other people have to say about it!

Ironic that the NIMBY core of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council is also against any development of hotels or accommodations in the area. The same elements are trying to squelch development of that old church on Sunset into a small boutique hotel, citing the same tired reasons of overcrowding, traffic, hooliganism. The Council, as other have pointed out, is really just a glorified homeowners association of the worst kind, subsidized by the City. But the entire community should really attend these meetings, if for nothing else, to see what a joke the NIMBY core has turned this Council into; what a farce. The City should use that money for other things, but perhaps the City Council finds the Neighborhood Councils a painless and inexpensive way to keep the NIMBY royalty and busybodies of each neighborhood occupied. What will they oppose next? Everything and anything.

How many times can I use NIMBY in a post? Isn’t it ironic? I guess I’ll crack open a PBR and drink a toast to all the NIMBYs. When we are all running off to the next trend somewhere else, the NIMBYs will still be here, cleaning up the mess we left behind, that is after they’ve recouped all the sleep that they lost from all the noise we made that kept them awake at night. Damn NIMBYs, trying to spoil this once in a lifetime incredible cultural experience in world famous Silver Lake. It’s just so rich and meaningful. Future historians will be writing dissertations and novels about it. NIMBYs rule Silver Lake, the rest of you are just visitors.

the NIMBY core of the SLNC is SO defensive. you can witness it for yourself by going to any council or committee meeting… they DO NOT represent the community at all but are only there to serve their own interests and those of their friends. (note their recent support of co-chair Clint Lukens request for a zoning variance to turn a residential property to a commercial one. They voted for it in Committee and in the SLNC despite letters from over 320 neighbors protesting. The only support he had was from the NIMBY core of the SLNC. It was denied by the Zoning Administration.)

Hmm, that sounds strange. NIMBY-ON-NIMBY action? Clint Lukens is one of the good guys on the Council. I just wish he and the other reasonable people on the SLNC would stand up to those NIMBYs on the Council. It looks like they might be finally. Why do people who work for City Council members have positions on the Neighborhood Council? Isn’t there a conflict of interest? Why are there no term limits?

Did any of you go to the SLNC Vision and Goals meeting at the library last month? Participants were asked something like, “If you were in an elevator with Mayor Garcetti, what question would you ask him?” One of the Neighborhood Council leaders responded, “Why did you put a light pole in front of the Neutra House?” REALLY? She has a right to her own opinion and causes, but of all things to ask the new mayor of the 2nd largest city in the US, that’s what was on her mind?

The answer might have been, “We put a crosswalk to ensure safe crossing across Silver Lake Blvd. Hundreds of people use it every month if not every week. We were going to put it at an intersection close by, but several NIMBY heads exploded at the thought at the meetings to discuss it and you probably got them all there to that meeting, so that was the best place in response to your whining, determined by people whose job it is to plan and create such a thing for public safety.”

That question in the elevator speaks volumes about what the Neighborhood Council’s brand has become: provincial, NIMBY obstruction and limitations, a homeowners association.

I would like the SLNC to stay the hell out of my apartment, please. Jeez, do I really have to say that? What I do in my apartment is my business. If this goes forward, I’d like to know if there is a recall process for Neighborhood Council members, or a way to disband the council entirely. My privacy is being invaded enough already by snoopy Feds. Is it just open season for any and all governmental bodies getting up in everybody’s personal business or something?

I’ve never rented my place out through AirBnB, but I’ve used the site to find places to stay in other cities with stupidly expensive hotels. Even made a friend that way. Totally positive experience all the way around. Saved me money; made them money; and lost money for the corporations who wanted to rip me off with hundreds of dollars/night hotel rates. In my view, AirBnB is not like a hotel at all. More like having someone stay at your house while you’re away on vacation, but instead of doing favors like feeding your dog and taking in the mail, they give you some cash. Sorry, but I just don’t see harm, or how it could ever be my neighbors’ or my neighborhood council’s business to tell me whether or not I can do that if I want to.

There’s a unit in my building where the tenants sometimes do a short-term sublet (1-3 months) while they’re working in NYC or in Europe. Totally legal. Not a nuisance to me or any of our other neighbors.

If I had to guess, the people opposed to AirBnB are either hotel owners or landlords. I’m pretty sure those folks are already on top and doing just fine. Many or most probably don’t even live in the neighborhood–they just own property here. Are those really the people the Neighborhood Council was elected to serve?

Real local businesses probably benefit from AirBnB visitors, because people on vacation are more likely to eat out and shop here in the neighborhood instead of closer to the big hotels downtown.

Hate to break it to you, but there are lots of things you’re not allowed to do in your home or apartment, even if you can’t see the harm or it’s not readily apparent. Running certain businesses — restaurants, hotels — fall into that category.

Zoning laws aren’t just big brother. They establish standards for neighborhoods and prevent an underground economy that depresses the tax base. They also let property owners and residents know the type of neighborhood they’re living in.

I think it’s great that some of the commenters are paying city taxes, but it’s unclear how common this is, as Airbnb doesn’t require it. Obviously an outright ban is silly and extreme, but some rules would be nice.

Do you think someone should be able to operate a business without paying taxes? Wouldn’t you rather have tourists paying hotel taxes to fund the city?

Everything is wrong about this airbnb — including the city’s lack of prosecution. It is almost laughable that the Neighborhood Council is looking to consider a ban — this is already illegal, and it should be. This is illegal under the zoning laws, and it is illegal to be doing this without the proper licenses and permits even in the proper zone, and it is illegal to be doing it without paying the associated business and income taxes.

If people wanted to live in a transient hotel, they would have moved into one. If they wanted to live in an area surrounded by transient hotels, they would have moved to such as area. And if you want to run a transient hotel, then run it in the proper location.

A tenant here where I live got kicked out last year for renting out her place on airbnb — at a rate more than double what the landlord was charging in monthly rent — after tenants here complained about the transients constantly roaming around here, no one had any idea who they were. In the wake of that, I checked that airbnb website and found a TON of listings all over Silver Lake, including many right here on my street. No wonder the rental market it so tight! Some of the same people were renting out multiple places like this! They are taking units required as longterm rentals off the market and putting them up for rent at double the amount for transient occupancy, and doing the same with their homes or second units. No wonder the rental market is so tight!

These people are not undergoing the required background checks to get licenses — who knows how many are felons looking to do dastardly things. They’re not getting city permits for the locations. They’re not reporting this for city business taxes. I seriously doubt any are reporting this on income taxes either. They’re not getting the required insurance for such establishments. This is going on completely unregulated and with no oversight and not meeting the requirements of a transient occupancy business even if they were in the right area (such as onsite manager — someone has to be on hand for any trouble from such tenants). And it is undermining the fabric of neighborhoods that are zoned for only longterm residency.

Everything is wrong, and very illegal, about this. I for one do not want to live in a transient occupancy area, and I did not move to one. Let them go elsewhere, and take all the bedbugs that transiency brings in with them.

Mark, I like that you at least ended your long string of completely non-fact-based assumptions with an honest “who knows?” “Who knows how many are felons looking to do dastardly things?” Well, if I had to guess, I’d say none. Or, I might more realistically say “probably less than the number of dastardly felons that are looking to set up shop as long-term rental slumlords,” a category that is overabundant in this city.

As far as regulations go, I am not a lawyer, but given the fact that we have a license from the City to do just what we are doing, I am pretty sure it is not “very illegal.” I run an airBnB/Homeaway.com listing out of our downstairs apartment, and we are insured, we have a business license, and we pay taxes. No question, people who aren’t paying taxes, or who are violating a rental agreement with a landlord, should be penalized, UNDER EXISTING STATUTES. It’s self-evident. Just like any other bad landlord or annoying neighbor.

What you should also know is that to a great extent, this business, unlike the long-term rental business, is self-governing. If you have a crappy rental, people will give you crappy reviews. It’s a classic customer feedback cycle, and it works. As far as I know there is no governing entity like this for long-term rentals, except for the overextended, morally compromised, regulation-mired city government.

My larger point is that there is not one, NOT ONE, allegation that you can make against these rentals that you cannot apply with greater truthfulness to long-term renters. Shady operators? Noisy? Out-of control dogs?Trash on the lawn/sidewalk? Houses falling apart? Too many cars? PLEASE. Walk around my block once and you will see all of this being perpetrated, and NOT by AirBnB/HomeAway rental proprietors, but by long-term renters and homeowners, and yet I don’t hear anyone proposing we ban THEM.

Finally, if you are wondering why the rental market is so tight, it’s because being a long-term landlord sucks. Rent control, stringent and yet randomly enforced city regulations, and so on make it a very bad business gamble unless you are already a wealthy landowner. This rental provides a much-needed and completely above-board source of income for our family, one that a long-term rental is unlikely to match. If you want the pool of rental properties to expand, provide incentives for landlords, not prohibitions intended to corral them into becoming reluctant, poorly-supervised, and financially untenable slumlords.

We are adding value to the city. We provide a service for travelers that is not offered by hotels. We pay a hefty tax to the city. We provide a haven for visitors to the city, a personal touch not offered by the big chains. We encourage our guests to spend money at local businesses, and they do. The idea of banning this entire category of business because of a handful of minor nuisance issues, which A) could and should be dealt with by enforcing existing statutes, and B) pale in comparison to the issues created by “legitimate” inhabitants of the city, is so completely over-the-top and absurd that I’m surprised it has even come up. OK, well, not really surprised, just disappointed by the short-sightedness and knee-jerk resistance to new ideas.

As far as undermining the fabric of neighborhoods, are you kidding me? I don’t know how it is where you live, but we have been in our neighborhood for 7 years now, and we’ve made efforts to meet our neighbors, but after 7 years we barely know more about them than when we started. And, as our conversations with them have proven, none of our neighbors know any of our other neighbors. It’s a shame, and it speaks volumes about the changing nature of American society, but it is not going to be affected in a significant way by changing the number of vacation rentals. What do you think this city is, Mayberry? Grow up.

You don’t have a business license for this. You need a separate licenses and permit as transient occupancy — which you can’t even get if you are not in the correct zone for it! A generic city business licenses with a vague identification of type of business is not sufficient to legally run a transient occupancy hotel. Its not a presumption, it is a fact of what is required for this. Those permits do actually involve a full background check, which you have not undergone — and not just anyone can get them. These background checks are for the safety of everyone. You show that you don’t even know what the standards are. You are not meeting them.

Even the taxes, you are not paying the transient occupancy tax. That is different than the city business tax. Last I heard, that is another 100% — but seems to me that was raised even higher a few years back.

You’re not adding any “value” to the city — all you are doing is exploiting in the worst way, and everyone but you be damned. Stop your bullshitting. Word games don t make for a benefit to all.

Don’t start blaming rent control — you again prove you haven’t the slightest idea what you are talking about. Even under rent control, landlords are guaranteed not only a minimum of 11% profit, but are making exponentially more than that. That’s why so many smaller places have changed from owner occupancy to rentals!

Tom, one thing I can say for certain is that we ARE paying the 14% TOT every month. I am really not sure what you mean by exploiting anyone. Who am I exploiting? My guests are universally pleased with the service we offer. I have NEVER had a complaint from my guests or my neighbors. If my only option was to rent long-term, I probably wouldn’t do it. In fact, I can’t, because the space we rent is the space that our in-laws and other relatives also stay in when they visit us. As far as adding value, consider the tax revenue alone, it’s more than the city would get if we were long-term landlords. The money our visitors pump into the neighborhood economy is just a bonus.

OK, I will try to post my comment again, this time removing anything that might be considered a personal attack, however remotely. Hopefully this time it will pass muster:

“Who knows how many are felons looking to do dastardly things?” Well, if I had to guess, I’d say none. Or, I might more realistically say “probably less than the number of dastardly felons that are looking to set up shop as long-term rental slumlords,” a category that is overabundant in this city. As far as regulations go, I am not a lawyer, but given the fact that we have a license from the City to do just what we are doing, I am pretty sure it is not “very illegal.” I run an airBnB/Homeaway.com listing out of our downstairs apartment, and we are insured, we have a business license, and we pay taxes. No question, people who aren’t paying taxes, or who are violating a rental agreement with a landlord, should be penalized, UNDER EXISTING STATUTES. It’s self-evident. Just like any other bad landlord or annoying neighbor. What you should also know is that to a great extent, this business, unlike the long-term rental business, is self-governing. If you have a crappy rental, people will give you crappy reviews. It’s a classic customer feedback cycle, and it works. As far as I know there is no governing entity like this for long-term rentals, except for the overextended, morally compromised, regulation-mired city government. My larger point is that there is not one, NOT ONE, allegation that you can make against these rentals that you cannot apply with greater truthfulness to long-term renters. Shady operators? Noisy? Out-of control dogs?Trash on the lawn/sidewalk? Houses falling apart? Too many cars? PLEASE. Walk around my block once and you will see all of this being perpetrated, and NOT by AirBnB/HomeAway rental proprietors, but by long-term renters and homeowners, and yet I don’t hear anyone proposing we ban THEM. Finally, if you are wondering why the rental market is so tight, it’s because being a long-term landlord sucks. Rent control, stringent and yet randomly enforced city regulations, and so on make it a very bad business gamble unless you are already a wealthy landowner. This rental provides a much-needed and completely above-board source of income for our family, one that a long-term rental is unlikely to match. If you want the pool of rental properties to expand, provide incentives for landlords, not prohibitions intended to corral them into becoming reluctant, poorly-supervised, and financially untenable slumlords. We are adding value to the city. We provide a service for travelers that is not offered by hotels. We pay a hefty tax to the city. We provide a haven for visitors to the city, a personal touch not offered by the big chains. We encourage our guests to spend money at local businesses, and they do. The idea of banning this entire category of business because of a handful of minor nuisance issues, which A) could and should be dealt with by enforcing existing statutes, and B) pale in comparison to the issues created by “legitimate” inhabitants of the city, is so completely over-the-top and absurd that I’m surprised it has even come up. OK, well, not really surprised, just disappointed by the short-sightedness and knee-jerk resistance to new ideas. As far as undermining the fabric of neighborhoods, are you kidding me? I don’t know how it is where you live, but we have been in our neighborhood for 7 years now, and we’ve made efforts to meet our neighbors, but after 7 years we barely know more about them than when we started. And, as our conversations with them have proven, none of our neighbors know any of our other neighbors. It’s a shame, and it speaks volumes about the changing nature of American society, but it is not going to be affected in a significant way by changing the number of vacation rentals.

Apparently you all have forgotten that Silver Lake and Echo Park have turned in to a haven for greedy landlords and Westsiders (yes, I used the W word )who have purchased in our community simply to make a buck. They have no interest in living here, but just making a buck here. Not everyone who rents their homes/rooms pay taxes , I know a few of them. Just check out the “bios” of the folks renting out their places on Air BandB. They are quite telling of what has happened to the neighborhood. A bunch of out of town transplants who jumped on the “up and coming neighborhood”, “curb appeal”,”eclectic neighborhood” real estate band wagon. Signed , homeowner and Echo Park resident since 1962.

Reading the many comments on this blog, it’s a wonder why anyone would want to come to NELA and especially Silver Lake/Echo Park. Hipsters, NIMBYs, racists, xenophobes, gentrifiers, trustafarians….. what a miserable bunch!

People are renting out rooms because there’s demand because there aren’t any hotel rooms near Silverlake! So if people don’t want Air BNB, why won’t they allow a hotel in the old church on Sunset?? Silverlake is crazy when it comes to development.

Everyone is allowed to make choices. Where to live, where to play, etc. I own a business and I choose to run the business in a legal manner which includes following the licensing and permit rules as set forth by the city. I also own short-term rental property which again, I choose to operate legally by following the laws governing this practice. I am not against airbnb but I do have some questions. After reading through the posts I wondered over to airbnb and did a simple search for Silver Lake and was met with close to 600 listings in SL and EP. Are these all property owners or renters subletting their rented spaces without the knowledge of the property owner? Part of the permit/ biz license is to ensure property standards for safety, etc and require things like insurance. As a property owner I rent with the understanding that I am doing so and expect a moderate amount of wear and tear. Daily or weekly or weekend rental sublets would not be my choice as an owner for this reason. My choice that I make as the owner property.

It was also curious to me that I read several mentions of the church space/ hotel….as if approving that would solve the airbnb issue.

Hello, they are just advisory to the city council. They have no enforcement powers but they do respond as they should to concerns of the community. Most of them are rational but some kooks are new to the board and God help us all.

Aside from the issues that have been well presented here about AirBnB, NIMBYism and all that, one central fact remains: The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council has ABSOLUTELY NO POWER to effect such a ban, or anything else for that matter. NO POWER, despite whatever dreams of empire may occupy the minds of some of its members. What can and should it do? Work to engage citizens to make the neighborhood better and a happy place.

So the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council is bitching and complaining about these short term rentals, but didn’t do anything about that horder, who lives by the reservoir! Tell me that horder didn’t “negatively impact surrounding property values.”

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council needs to worry about fixing the sidewalks and streets, and get rid of and stop the dumping of trash-how many times have you seen old TV’s, furniture, etc dumped on the side of a road?- in Silver Lake!

The problem with Airbnb in Silver Lake is the sheer amount of listings. A few listings would not affect the neighborhood as a whole but hundreds of listings basically converts single family homes into hotels. This definitely changes the neighborhood and is against spirit of the zoning code of the area.

They’re discussing the issue right now (11:00 A.M.) on the Larry Mantle show on 89.3 KPCC. (I think KPCC archives its shows on its website; I’ll post a link later this afternoon if I can find it online.)

I need some clarification. I’m not a Silver Lake Resident but I do enjoy sleeping around. How do I future out the the 14% city tax on four margaritas?? Also, could you please find a less prejudicial term than “transient” — my parents were married!! And we don’t call you you guys names when you come to Arcadia! Do I need a variance?

Can we please get some relief from all the self-important busybodies who moved into our neighborhood when they found out what a happening spot on the globe we created? Silver Lake is an artists community and always has been. We made it your destination for vacation and choice of residence. NIMBY types don’t know where their backyard ends and mine begins. It’s the yuppies that moved into our locals- only scene in the 90s and drove up the rentals to triple what they were before gentrification. Before them SL & EP were slightly dangerous and down on our heels. You couldn’t have cared less about the area then Yuppies add nothing artistic to our hood. More lawyers, industry weasels and their ilk are persona non-grata. They pick up on a cool area and invade like so many fire ants. If I can barely afford my mortgage, taxes and insurance, and am struggling w a city that green lights huge high-density, high-digit housing complexes, what’s your beef if I rent a room out? Its not your backyard. My property gets more attention, renovations, and I get to meet interesting artists from around the world. I also get a new revenue stream. Those are scarce since 2008 and we artists need to get creative. Once you’ve squeezed the last cool art scene out of the area, you’ve got nada. Stop the whining about transients. Transients live on the street. The demographic in question are tourists, they are hip enough to dig an artist’s enclave instead of some Downtown or Hollywood sprawl that charges 8X what artist-hosts do. We deserve the opportunity to benefit from the neighborhood we created and nurtured. I’m a Silver Lake native, my folks lived here, LA’s first film studios, in the 20’s and writers made this area breathe, not the entitled rich, and they didn’t just move east when They heard gentrification was happening over here. I’m in favor of AirBnB and all the revenue it will bring our cash-strapped artist constituents. Pick your battles with the developers and their monstrosities, they’re the ones who will clog streets and uglify our hip digs. Oh right, those guys Own the politicians! Take your legalese to another case, were all full up with crazy lawyers and yuppies screaming about Our neighborhood now they’ve discovered it. It was ours first. We cleaned it up so you could move here and if the artist goes, there goes the neighborhood.

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